Warriors pushed late by Jazz, still come out on top in Utah

Warriors pushed late by Jazz, still come out on top in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — The Golden State Warriors needed less than nine minutes to open a 24-point lead over the short-handed Utah Jazz on Thursday night.

Stephen Curry scored 26 points and the Warriors controlled the Jazz from start to finish in a 106-99 victory.

Curry had 14 points during a 29-1 run that made it 29-5. The Jazz's only lead of the game was 4-2.

"Loss of focus," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said about the second half. "Our first quarter was great, we pushed the ball and our defensive intensity was fantastic. I think we let down. We started turning it over some careless, purposeless plays.

"We didn't really have an idea of what we were trying to accomplish. Some defensive mistakes not getting out on shooters and they took advantage."

The Jazz have four starters sidelined by injuries, including their top three scorers.

"I didn't do a good job of attacking throughout the game and I thought that was a good opportunity for me to attack," Durant said about the fourth quarter.

Golden State led 65-46 at halftime as the second unit allowed the Jazz to hang around and, technically, remain within striking distance. The urgency from the first quarter disappeared in the second half and the Jazz crept within five in the fourth quarter thanks to buckets from Mack and Ingles, but Durant closed the game with 11 in the final period.

"What we've discussed is just roles," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said about surviving the injuries. "They can morph. They widen, they can narrow, they can do anything. Hopefully, on a team, guys are willing to evolve and adjust to what the team needs. That's really all we emphasized."

TIP-INS

Warriors: Rookie Patrick McCaw scored a career-high 10 points, all in the first half. ... Shaun Livingston took the night off to rest. ... Draymond Green was two assists shy of his 15th career triple-double. ... Green tweaked his ankle, but he and Kerr didn't seem overly concerned.

Jazz: Utah started the combination of Joe Johnson, Mack, Dante Exum, Gobert and Boris Diaw for the first time this season. ... Ingles hit a career-high five 3-pointers.

INJURED JAZZ

The Jazz were without four starters — Gordon Hayward (finger), Rodney Hood (hamstring), George Hill (toe) and Derrick Favors (knee). Utah has been dealing with injuries all season, but Thursday was their most depleted lineup to date.

"It's easy to be frustrated," Snyder said. "That's something you have to just fight against and make a decision to do the best with where we are.

"It's a credit to our guys really. We've got a group that has character. Over a longer period of time it becomes more challenging. ... Hopefully, there's a silver lining. We've got some guys that are getting minutes that may not be getting otherwise."

QUOTABLE

"This team, my first year was kind of a surprise and everybody seemed to love us. Now maybe it's changed a little bit. It honestly makes no difference to us." — Kerr.

ROLES

Snyder said roles morph, but Joe Johnson added that shouldn't be a difficult thing night-to-night.

"This is our profession, man," Johnson said. "This is what we signed up for. This is what we do. When you're number's called, you've got to be ready regardless of the circumstances."

UP NEXT

Warriors: Golden State travels to face the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday in the third game of a five-game trip.

Jazz: Utah hosts a Sacramento Kings team on Saturday that has lost eight of 12 on the road.

Warriors guard Ian Clark will have his high school jersey retired

Warriors guard Ian Clark will have his high school jersey retired

Warriors guard Ian Clark will have his jersey retired by his alma mater, Germantown High School, in a ceremony this Friday evening on campus, the team announced on Thursday.

Clark, who will attend the ceremony, is the first player from Germantown High to appear in the NBA and the first player to have his number retired by the school. The Warriors will be in Memphis ahead of their game on Saturday night against the Grizzlies.

Clark wore #21 as a four-year varsity player and three-year starter for Germantown High, finishing his high school basketball career among the top three all-time in total points scored (1,846). Clark, who was born in Memphis, averaged 16.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists over his four high school seasons from 2005-09 with the Red Devils.

“Ian has had a great impact not only on the school, but on the entire area because of the kind of person he is,” said Jason James, the boys’ basketball coach at Germantown High. “Ian is a great basketball player, but he’s an even better person. For us to have this relationship is special to me. It’s an honor to be part of the ceremony to have his number retired.”

The ceremony will take place on Friday, December 9, at Germantown High School at roughly 7:15 p.m. in between the girls’ and boys’ basketball games.

The 25-year old played his college ball at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. in As a senior in 2012-13 he averaged 18.2 points per game while shooting just under 46 percent from deep.

Belmont made the NCAA Tournament three times during Clark's career.

Over 19 appearances for the Warriors this season, Clark is averaging 6.8 points per game. He scored a career-high 22 points against the Blazers on Nov. 1 and racked up 21 points against the Lakers on Nov. 23.